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How to Win Brand Love Through Loyalty

This module explores the connection of brand loyalty to the megatrend of Co-Creation. Co-creation fosters loyalty because it invites consumers into the creation process which develops a personal investment in the product and a deeper connection with the brand.

Consumers want to know that brands are listening to them, and in response, brands are tapping into tools like polling on Instagram stories to collect input from their audience. In this module, we see how brands are leveraging consumer opinions and preferences to shape their future product and service offerings.

Trend - Relying on more than just in-house expertise, the worlds of health, medical care and accessibility are increasingly being crowdsourced in order to deliver the best product experience, or enhance consumers' quality of life.

Workshop Question - How could your brand incorporate crowdsourcing in the development of its new product/services?

Social media-incorporated polling has emerging implications in market research

Trend - With brands often finding it difficult to conduct effective surveys due to low user response, some are turning to social media polling systems in order to better engage with what consumers want, particularly Millennials and Gen Z. Though not a replacement for comprehensive research programs, these social media-friendly polling systems allow brands to make small but impactful decisions.

Workshop Question - Conceptualize a simple social media polling campaign that your brand could use to its advantage.

Companies are launching more apps specifically designed for desktop users

Trend - Companies are increasingly creating apps specifically designed to be used on a desktop, including apps for audio customization, social media, and organizational tools. The desktop-centric design empowers users with more functional capabilities when compared to their mobile counterparts.

Trend - Social media platforms that are designed around or offer specific open-source functions are increasingly popular as brands look to empower their customers to create their own online experiences. These platforms and functions empower promote both creativity and autonomy in the digital space.

Trend - Brands in the business of creating dating apps are aiming to establish trustworthy connections by using friendship as a basis for matchmaking. Whether facilitating friendships first between potential matches, or using existing friends to vouch for users of the apps, these brands are prioritizing authentic connections.

Workshop Question - How could your brand align longstanding values with technological changes in its space?

Trend - While many brands reward consumers for purchases made, a number of brands are creating rewards systems that motivate consumers to lead active lifestyles to earn prizes. Such programs affiliate these brands with the consumer’s journey towards developing a healthy lifestyle. These rewards highlight how brands are being proactive in supporting the self-betterment of consumers to build long-term brand equity.

Workshop Question - Consider how your brand could play a role in the self-improvement of your customers.

Trend - Brands are bridging the gap between modern-day loyalty systems and the cryptocurrency industry by rewarding customers with digital coins. These programs reveal how brands can leverage emerging industries to hone in on their target demographics, without being explicitly exclusionary.

Implications - The fast food and fashion business models typically rely on producing as much as possible to cater to as many as possible, but some brands within these spaces are branching out to offer customized products and food items. These add-ons allow for such brands to better connect to individual consumers, in the face of backlash that points out their unhealthy or environmentally harmful impact.

Trend - Social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are being leveraged by restaurants and small businesses, by allowing customers to order certain food products with the touch of a button via these platforms.

Workshop Question - How can your brand better target its audience with social media?

Platforms evolve with features that encourage heightened user engagement

Implications - Battling consumers' short attention spans, social media platforms are adapting with features beyond just messaging and facial recognition for more on-going engagement. More than just a platform and community for users to interact, social media giants like Instagram and Snapchat are integrating features like singing challenges, behind-the-senses engagement and voice-integrated adaptations to offer a multitude of multi-sensory elements as a way to create more memorable moments. The addition of such features speaks to the ever-growing consumer desire to constantly be surprised and delighted.

Workshop Question - Think of your best product feature or service. What elements could you layer onto that to make it even more experiential and engaging?

Implications - As streamlined payment options continue to evolve with the use of emerging tech, a shift toward more experiential purchasing solutions are on the rise to better engage consumers. Moving beyond mere convenience, brands are tapping into social platforms, multimedia outlets and even AI capabilities to add more memorable moments to the purchasing journey. Focusing on experience rather than speed, these paths to purchase are representative of a growing consumer desire for brand experiences that are engaging even prior to product consumption.

Workshop Question - Think of the typical path to purchase for your consumer. How could you tap into adjacent industries to elevate that experience into something more memorable?